


Ask Me

by Parhelionsol



Series: Ask Me [1]
Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: F/F, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 03:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15964235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parhelionsol/pseuds/Parhelionsol
Summary: 5 times Nicky wasn't completely honest with Lorna, and 1 time she was.





	Ask Me

**Author's Note:**

> AU- Nicky & Lorna attend the same high school set in NYC, year 2000. I hope you enjoy the 90s references ;)

**1\. How do I look?**

"Lorna," Nicky whined, "if we don't get going soon I'm gonna run out of cigarettes." Nicky sat smoking on the daybed underneath her bedroom window and tapped her pack of smokes anxiously.

"Or you could stop chain-smoking," Lorna said. "And then you could close the window, it's freaking freezing in here!"

Nicky rolled her eyes and ignored her.

"Besides, you need to get ready!"

"I am ready," Nicky deadpanned.

Lorna narrowed her eyes. Nicky was still in their school uniform.

"Okay, I'll get dressed, then can we go?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just have to figure out what to do with my hair. You think Christopher will like my dress?"

"Probably, who doesn't like a girl in a red dress?"

Nicky set her cigarette in her ashtray while she changed out of her school uniform and into her favorite Lou Reed t-shirt, her black skinny jeans, and leather jacket. She put on one more coat of mascara and deemed herself party-ready.

"I'm ready, let's go. You've been getting ready for hours."

"Do you blame me? There are only so many parties left in our senior year and I have to make the most of it!"

"Okay, okay. Just wear your hair down. It looks nice like that."

Lorna nodded and plugged in her curling iron. Nicky returned to her perch on the daybed. "Alright I just gotta touch up my curls. Are you sure you're okay to come with me?"

"What was I uninvited or something?"

"No of course not, I just meant - it's a party. Are you sure you want to go to a party? Won't you want to…?"

"You worried I'm gonna shoot up?" Nicky raised her eyebrows and took an extra long drag on her cigarette. It was no secret that Nicky had recently received treatment for her heroin addiction. While her friends were enjoying their winter break and partying like it was 1999 for the last time, Nicky had greeted Y2K by going through withdrawal in a rehab program upstate.

"A little," Lorna admitted. "I'm just worried about you. Are you mad at me?"

"No," Nicky sighed. "I don't blame you for worrying. Pretty sure everyone who's going to be at this party knows I'm clean now, despite Marka telling everyone I was just visiting an aunt upstate."

"True. Well if it's too hard for you just find me and we'll leave okay?"

"You got it."

Lorna applied a final coat of red lipstick, seemingly done primping, and turned to Nicky. "How do I look?"

Nicky rolled her eyes. "Like you're gonna freeze in that dress. But like you're finally ready, about time." As long as Nicky could remember their friendship had been like this. Friends since kindergarten, Nicky and Lorna couldn't be more different when it came to clothes and make-up. Even when they were little girls, Lorna wanted to play dress-up whereas Nicky would rather climb trees. But for some reason their friendship worked.

As Lorna put her things away, she pursed her lips and looked slightly disappointed. Nicky ran her eyes up and down Lorna again and thought to herself that Lorna looked breathtakingly stunning, drop dead gorgeous, and good enough to eat or do a number of filthy things to. She didn't have the balls to say any of that out loud, but she hated that she hurt Lorna's feelings by not complimenting her.

Nicky took a final drag of her cigarette and put it out, sighing. "You look great, baby. Like  _Pretty Woman._  Now let's get the fuck outta here." Nicky didn't miss how Lorna beamed at her compliment, but she couldn't bring herself to tell her how beautiful she looks all the time.

**2\. Why not me?**

A few weeks later, Nicky and Lorna found themselves in almost the same places. Nicky sat on her daybed surrounded by magazines, smoking while doing the crossword. Lorna sat at the vanity doing her nails a new shade of red. Nicky sang along to the blasting loud stereo, but Lorna turned down the volume.

"Nicky can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot, baby."

"Well you know how you're gay?"

Nicky laughed and nearly choked on her cigarette.

"Is that your question?"

"Well, no, I mean I know you know you're gay. I guess that was a dumb thing to say."

Nicky laughed again. "What gave me away?" Besides the fact that her walls were plastered with posters of girls in various states of nudity and her stereo was playing Melissa Etheridge, Nicky had come out to Lorna back in the eighth grade. Although Nicky was completely out now, and was working her way through the girls at their school to boot, Lorna was the first person she had ever told and trusted with this part of her life.

"I just meant - if you're gay, why don't you ever hit on me?"

"Why, you feeling left out?" Nicky sidestepped the question with humor.

"Sort of."

"Shit, I'm sorry. Noted. I do call you baby though, don't I?"

Lorna was not satisfied with how Nicky had avoided her question, so she asked her again. "Okay you don't call anyone else baby though. That I know of. Seriously – you hit on all the girls at school and you're flirty with our other friends. Why not me?"

Nicky shifted uncomfortably. She was a flirt by nature and enjoyed joking around with her friends. But with Lorna, she didn't joke around because she didn't want to get so close to letting her true feelings show. Lorna was her best friend, and she couldn't take the rejection or loss of friendship if she risked it for some flirtation. Nicky knew she couldn't tell Lorna any of this.

"I don't know, I guess I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Well you won't."

"Okay, hot stuff. I got it," Nicky said with a wink and smiled. Lorna smiled back, and turned the volume up again.

**3\. How did you know?**

After a long winter, New York City finally welcomed spring, and Nicky and Lorna began taking advantage of the nice weather by studying in the courtyard after school. Nicky liked the break in routine - being holed up in her room all winter gave her cabin fever almost as bad as rehab did – and Lorna enjoyed the fresh air.

During one of their after school study sessions, Nicky was buried in her Calculus homework but Lorna hadn't opened any of her books yet. She stared at Nicky contemplatively.

"How did you know?"

"How did I know what baby?" Nicky didn't look up from her homework, eyes squinting at a graph she couldn't quite figure out and mentally cursing out whoever invented derivatives.

"Oh, that you were gay."

Nicky laughed but still didn't look up from her Calculus book. "Jesus, Lorna, you keep dropping bombs on me out of nowhere. Where's your head at, huh?"

"I'm just curious is all. How did you know?"

"I saw Fiona Apple in the  _Criminal_ video."

Nicky didn't realize how badly Lorna actually wanted to hear a serious answer to this question. Lorna had never expressed interest in girls before, and she spent many of her days blabbing about the school quarterback Christopher. But truth be told, recently Lorna had begun noticing Nicky in a way that was unfamiliar to her. The sound of her voice made her stomach flutter, and whenever Nicky smiled at her she swore her heart skipped a beat. Lorna caught herself staring at Nicky's curves more than once, and when Nicky danced with girls at parties she found herself wondering what it would feel like if she were the one pressed against Nicky's body. Worst of all, whenever Nicky disappeared for the night from a party, always slinking away with a new girl, Lorna felt the ugly sensation of hot jealousy rise inside her.

"Nicky…"

"I don't know okay Lorna, I just always knew."

If she had been honest with her, Lorna would have been comforted by the fact that Nicky too had once found herself looking at her best friend in a new light. Only, Nicky had come to terms with her attraction to Lorna many years ago, and had vowed never to tell her that she had first questioned her sexuality thanks to Lorna's curves and trademark red lips.

Lorna bit her lip, hesitating before bringing it up again, "Well there must have been something that made you realize-"

"No, and I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Nicky's dismissal of the question seemed final this time, and Lorna didn't push her again.

**4\. What's it like?**

On the weekends, Lorna often spent the night at Nicky's watching movies and gabbing until the sun came up. Marka spent most of her weekends in South America and Lorna welcomed the escape from her crowded house. Nicky needed the company, lonely in her apartment whether Marka was there or not, and Lorna enjoyed one-on-one time with her best friend instead of being bombarded all the time by her parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews. One Friday night, they found themselves watching  _Titanic_  in Nicky's bedroom and working their way through Marka's collection of red wine.

Lorna, several glasses of wine in and a notorious lightweight, was fairly buzzed and could feel the liquid courage loosening her already barely existent filter. Of course Nicky drank wine like it was grape juice and barely felt the effects. As they watched Jack and Rose engage in a passionate scene on the screen, Lorna paused the movie and bit her lip, holding her breath. Nicky didn't notice Lorna's body language and tried to take the remote.

"Oh come on, if you're gonna pause it at least rewind so it's on something good like Kate Winslet's tits."

Lorna remained silent and Nicky noticed the tension. She could sense something was eating at her, since a remark like that would usually deserve a return quip or at least a laugh.

"Lorna?"

Lorna looked at Nicky uncomfortably, unsure if she was really going to ask her the question that had been burning at her recently. Nicky was starting to worry.

"Lorna, what is it?"

"I gotta ask you something, but I'm afraid you'll make fun of me."

"Baby, you can ask me anything. I promise."

Lorna looked away from her and blushed. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

Lorna gestured at the TV screen as if her question should have been obvious to Nicky.

"You know - sex. What's it like?"

True to her word, Nicky didn't laugh. She did smirk though, and said, "Warm apple pie."

The reference made Lorna laugh and Nicky felt the tension in the room dissipate a fair amount.

"No silly, I know what my vagina feels like. That's not what I mean."

"I know, kid. I just don't think I have the right kind of expertise for you. I've only had sex with girls."

"Well I know, but what does it feel like when you - you know?"

Nicky raised her eyebrows and looked at her with a little shock in her saucer brown eyes. "Come?"

Lorna nodded sheepishly.

"You just said you know what your vagina feels like!"

"Yeah, but still I never…"

"Clicked your mouse?" Nicky grinned. "I think you need to watch  _American Pie_ again."

"No! I know what I'm supposed to do. It just doesn't feel – I don't know. It doesn't feel like it should. I was just wondering is all."

"Of course you were, I don't blame you."

"So…? You gonna tell me?"

Nicky lit a cigarette, thinking hard.

"I don't know Lorna, it feels good! Not as good as smack. Better than smoking a cigarette."

"That's all you gotta say about it? I don't know what either of those things feel like and you know that!"

Nicky shrugged and offered Lorna her cigarette, a sly smile on her face.

"No thanks. I was sure you were going to say something along the lines of fireworks exploding, waves crashing, being swept off your feet, I don't know – something more romantic than comparing it to drugs."

"Sure, babe. Let's go with that. That's way better than my thing anyway."

But Nicky was lying. Truth be told, even when another girl did bring her to orgasm, for Nicky it really didn't feel very romantic. She was an addict. Without heroin, sex was her fix. And as good as it felt, she never pursued the romantic feelings expected to accompany sex. But Lorna was a romantic at heart, and Nicky didn't share any of these thoughts with her.

**5\. Am I your type?**

With only a month or so remaining to the school year before graduation, the seniors began throwing more parties than usual. Lorna used to spend the parties eyeing Christopher and hoping he would ask her to dance, but at the last few parties Lorna had kept mostly to herself. She sipped her cocktail from an empty couch, watching Nicky do a shot of tequila from their friend Alex's belly button. The teenage crowd cheered and chanted for them to switch places. Nicky caught Lorna's eye across the room and winked.

"Alright, alright!" Nicky put her hands up in defeat. "You guys caught me feeling soft." Lorna watched from afar as Nicky lifted her shirt and did a backbend on the kitchen table. Alex licked from her belly button down to her pants line and and sprinkled salt over her. She filled her belly button with tequila and placed a lime in her mouth. Salt, shot, lime, and Nicky bounced off the table, not missing Lorna's eyes staring at her.

Nicky made her way over to the couch with her shirt still rolled up and wiggled her hips suggestively towards Lorna.

"See something you like?" Nicky made an effort to flirt with her more ever since Lorna brought it up a couple months ago. Nicky put her shirt back down and sat next to Lorna on the couch, helping herself to some of her cocktail.

Lorna raised her eyebrows, "I don't know Nicky. Do you?"

"Oh, baby wants to play!"

"No I'm being serious."

"I'm not sure what you're asking me."

"Do you see something you like? Am I your type?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Nicky, everyone has a type."

"Ehh, sure, mine's straight girls who I have no chance with," Nicky joked. "If I'm dreaming, maybe Clea DuVall in  _But I'm A Cheerleader."_

"What, you think I haven't noticed that you always pick up a certain type of girl? That you take home a petite brunette from every party we go to? I'm not mad or nothin' I'm just wondering."

Nicky looked decidedly away from Lorna. "What? No. That's not true."

"Yes, it is. You seriously don't realize that you have a type?"

Truthfully Nicky did have a type. She was well aware that the girls she took home resembled her best friend. As much as she tried not to picture Lorna when she fucked them silly she couldn't help herself. And when she sat on a girl's face in the back of the school library she could easily pretend it was someone else entirely between her legs and bringing her pleasure. But she refused to acknowledge this to anyone, especially not to Lorna.

"I don't have a  _type_!" Nicky spat the word out angrily and turned to face Lorna. "But you sure think a lot of yourself now don't you!"

Lorna dropped her jaw. She couldn't believe Nicky was getting this upset over something that was so obvious. She didn't mean that girls who looked like  _her_ were her type, just that she happened to fall into Nicky's type. She tried to articulate this to Nicky but she wasn't hearing it. Nicky stood up and put her jacket on, tapping one foot uncontrollably and looking around the room anxiously while she pulled out her cigarettes.

"Stop, where are you going?"

"I gotta get out of here."

"Nicky wait!" Lorna recognized the signs of her friend itching for a fix and pulled her back onto the couch. "You're not thinking of using right now are you?"

"I don't know, okay. Just leave me alone."

"Nicky!"

Lorna knew Nicky's former dealer was at the party somewhere, and scanned the party looking for her. When she checked the front porch, she was relieved to see Nicky smoking with a tall blonde girl Lorna knew was not her dealer. Nicky pulled the girl closer to her and whispered something into her ear seductively, stroking her blonde locks and looking at Lorna pointedly. Whatever she said must have been pretty smooth, because not one minute later the two of them put out their cigarettes and hailed a cab, Nicky's arm around her possessively.

Lorna was relieved that Nicky seemed distracted enough to avoid heroin for the night. She wondered, though, if their argument had influenced her to pursue a tall blonde for once, just to prove Lorna wrong.

**6\. If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?**

Weeks had passed since the party, and while neither of them had brought up their argument, something had felt off ever since. They still ate lunch together and spent their afternoons studying in the courtyard, but Nicky hadn't asked Lorna to come over and they had barely talked about anything besides school and their upcoming graduation. They spent most of their time together in silence. Usually silence between them was comfortable, but lately the energy between them was awkward and tense.

With just two weeks left until graduation, Nicky knew she should spend her weekend studying, but she couldn't concentrate in her silent apartment. Marka was gone, as usual, and Nicky couldn't handle the weekend without company. She reached for her phone and started to dial Lorna before hanging up. Instead she decided to take a walk. She was almost out of cigarettes anyway.

At the bodega down the street, Nicky sought to buy her usual coffee and cigarettes. She checked the food aisle too, to see if anything appealed to her for dinner. As she contemplated the TV dinners, someone approached her. Nicky recognized her as a girl from school but couldn't place her name.

"Nichols, how's it going?"

"Ehh just peachy. Trying to decide if any of this shit would taste better than ordering Chinese take-out for the third night in a row."

The girl giggled and looked at her options. "I would say probably not."

"I think I'll take my chances. The delivery guys are gonna start judging me."

Nicky reached for one of the freezer meals, but the girl placed her hand on her arm and stopped her. "Listen, I'm here with a couple friends, but I'm totally game to ditch them and grab some real food with you if you want."

She looked Nicky up and down and stroked her arm lightly before moving her hand onto Nicky's hip. Nicky was both aroused and surprised at the offer. Girls from school rarely came on so strong, usually letting Nicky do all of the sweet talk.

"Oh, um, maybe another time," Nicky turned her down gently.

"If you change your mind, here's my number," she said, scrawling her digits onto her receipt and handing it to Nicky before walking out of the store.

Nicky hadn't been with anyone since the girl she took home after her argument with Lorna. After that night, Nicky was humiliated by the thought of fucking random girls while fantasizing about her best friend. And truthfully, she wasn't interested in anyone else. She had it bad, bad for Lorna Morello. She had been smoking almost twice as many cigarettes as usual and was becoming antsier every day, but she couldn't bring herself to pursue anyone new.

When Nicky got back to her apartment she heard the phone ringing from the kitchen. She set her stuff down quickly and went to answer it, her heart racing with the prospect that Lorna might be calling.

"Hello?"'

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

It wasn't Lorna.

"Absolutely nothing – why? This better be a booty call, Vause. I'm bored out of my mind and horny as hell." Alex laughed. "I'm serious. This girl at the bodega just came onto me, but I had to turn her down because she knew my name but I can't remember hers for the life of me. I chose blueballs over what would probably become a super awkward hook-up once she figured out that I didn't know her name."

"Oh sure, that's why you turned her down. It has nothing to do with one Lorna Morello."

"Shut the fuck up, Vause. So you coming over?"

Alex and Nicky had a funny relationship. Alex knew exactly how Nicky felt about Lorna but she was usually down to fuck anyway. Both of them were able to keep their feelings separate from the sex, and she was a good lay.

"Well this isn't a booty call, but we'll see how the night goes. Chapman's having a last-minute party and I thought you'd like to go. Morello's going to be there."

Nicky hesitated a few moments before answering. "Yeah, okay. It's better than watching  _Girl, Interrupted_  by myself for the millionth time this week. I'll see you there." She hung up the phone and heated up her TV dinner, scarfing it down quickly and then heading back out the door.

The party at Piper's was no joke. In addition to Piper inviting the entire senior class, apparently both of her brothers had invited all of their friends. As soon as Nicky saw Danny and his med school frat-boy friends swarming the halls, she knew she wouldn't last long at this party without a drink. She made her way to the kitchen, relieved to see Alex playing bartender for the moment.

"What'll it be, Nichols?"

"Surprise me. Something strong. Wanna do some shots with me?"

"You feeling okay?"

"Not really. I'm not looking forward to going home to my empty apartment."

"Who says you're going home alone?" Alex nodded her head towards the doorway from the hallway to the kitchen where Lorna was chatting with some of their other friends.

"Cut it out. I can't dwell on her anymore, it's too fucking depressing." Nicky lined up a few shot glasses for each of them. "Hit me."

"You really think getting drunk is gonna help?"

"Touché. But it's better than the alternative."

Alex narrowed her eyes at Nicky while pouring liquor into their shot glasses. "You better not be using Nichols."

"I'm not. That's exactly my point. I'm antsy as fuck but I'm not looking for smack am I? Not yet anyway."

Alex conceded and made Nicky a whiskey sour for when they finished their shots. "Whatever keeps you sane, Nichols."

Nicky welcomed the burn in her throat with each shot. The pain couldn't rival how she felt about her situation with Lorna, and by the time she finished her line of shots she had a nice buzz going, a friendly tingling feeling around her head.

"Thanks, Vause. Come find me if you strike out with Chapman, yeah?"

Alex made a face at her and whispered, "Shut up Nichols, she's right over there."

Nicky winked at her and took her whiskey sour into the living room, which had been turned into a makeshift dance floor. Nicky weaved her way through the throng of grinding bodies until she was right next to the speakers and could drown herself in the music. Before long, Nicky's cup was empty and she was feeling looser than usual, dancing freely with strangers without even opening her eyes.

Lorna watched her closely from across the room. Alex noticed and made her way over to her.

"I'm worried about her, Morello."

"She looks like she's rolling," Lorna observed, concerned as well. "I know for a fact there's ecstasy at this party. Chapman's brother asked me if I wanted any." Lorna wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"Nah, I've been watching her. She's just drunk. But she's lonely and depressed. She'd never tell you this, but she's having a hard time keeping it together. Pretty sure she misses you."

"So it's my fault if she relapses? She's barely spoken to me in weeks."

"No! Of course not. I'm just saying, maybe you can help."

Alex shrugged and left her alone. Lorna missed Nicky too. She made up her mind that this weirdness between them ended tonight. She found Nicky on the dance floor and grabbed her hands, pulling them a little further away from the crowd.

"Lorna!" Nicky shrieked and pulled her in close. "Dance with me."

Lorna laughed. She hadn't heard Nicky so animated in a long time. They danced until Lorna's feet couldn't take any more. "Will you come sit with me?" Lorna yelled over the music. "My feet hurt!"

Nicky nodded, yelling back, "Can we sit outside? I could use a smoke." Lorna grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her onto the patio. In addition to her aching feet, she needed some air and a break from the pounding bass. The porch swing was vacant and Lorna collapsed onto it eagerly. Nicky sat next to her and lit her cigarette.

"I am never wearing these shoes again!" Lorna took both shoes off and chucked them into the bushes.

Nicky laughed at her. "What are you gonna go home in now, huh?"

"I'll go home barefoot before I put those back on. Maybe Chapman can loan me some shoes."

Lorna turned so she could lay her head in Nicky's lap and threw her feet over the side of the swing.

"I don't know why you wear those fucking things in the first place." Nicky never bothered with high heels, opting to wear her chucks pretty much everywhere.

"Not all of us can pull off the punk look, alright."

"Sure you could, kid."

Lorna giggled and relished the ease at which their friendship slipped back into a normal rhythm. Nicky enjoyed the quiet moment too, savoring her cigarette and playing with Lorna's hair. Lorna sat up again, looking Nicky directly in the eyes.

"I missed you. I'm worried about you."

Nicky didn't break eye contact. She nodded in agreement. "I missed you too. You don't have to worry about me. I've just been a little lonely."

Lorna took a deep breath before asking, "Do you want to get out of here?"

Nicky searched her eyes, not sure how Lorna meant that to sound.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Lorna hailed them a cab while Nicky finished her cigarette.

They were halfway back to Nicky's when she started laughing, remembering that Lorna's feet were still bare. "Are you sure you don't want to go back for your shoes?"

"Those ain't shoes Nicky. They're torture devices. Look at my blisters!"

Lorna put her feet in Nicky's lap. Instead of inspecting her injuries, though, Nicky took the opportunity to tickle her arches and toes.

"Nicky!" Lorna squealed and pulled her feet away quickly. Nicky smirked but didn't try to tickle her again. "I'm gonna get you back!"

Once they arrived at her apartment they got settled in Nicky's room. Lorna changed into one of Nicky's oversized t-shirts that she often wore when spending the night and began to brush her hair. Nicky kicked off her shoes and belly flopped onto her bed, facing her clock. "It's late," Nicky observed.

"Yeah we were dancing for a long time."

"Do you want me to put a movie on?"

"Nah, only if you want to." Lorna put her brush down. "I'm pretty tired."

She crawled in the bed and seized the moment of Nicky looking the other direction, tickling her feet mercilessly. "Lorna!" Nicky shrieked for the second time that night and rolled over so she could tickle Lorna's ribs.

Lorna squealed again, rolling and squirming with Nicky until she relented, "Okay, okay!"

Nicky stopped too and tried to catch her breath. They ended up positioned facing each other, maybe a hair's distance between them.

Nicky closed her eyes, unsure if she was imagining the electricity between them or if the chemistry was real.

Lorna didn't know what prompted her to ask this, but she suddenly yearned to know.

"Nicky… if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Until that moment Nicky had still felt a buzz of the alcohol, even though the shots were hours ago. But when Lorna asked her that question, Nicky sobered instantly and opened her eyes.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Nicky asked seriously.

"Yeah, I do."

Nicky usually sidestepped Lorna's deep questions, unwilling to be completely honest with her. This time, Nicky didn't have it in her to make something up. It was time to be honest with her. She tucked a lock of Lorna's hair behind her ear, cupped her face, and looked into her eyes.

Nicky willed herself not to cry. "You," she confessed hoarsely.

Lorna said, "You have me. You're my best friend."

Nicky closed her eyes and a single tear fell.

"That's not what I mean."

Nicky kept her eyes shut, afraid that more tears would fall if she had to look at Lorna right now.

"I know."

Those two words were enough to encourage Nicky to close the barely perceptible distance between them with the most chaste kiss she could ever remember giving. Lorna's lips felt so soft against her own, and Nicky pulled away to search Lorna's eyes. Lorna wiped the tear off Nicky's cheek and brought their lips together again. This second kiss was not so chaste, and Nicky felt paralyzed by the heat and friction from Lorna's body rubbing against hers. Lorna bit Nicky's bottom lip and then ran her tongue over it soothingly. Nicky regained her senses and kissed her back passionately. She rolled Lorna underneath her so her thigh was between her legs and cupped her right breast, working her mouth down to nibble at Lorna's neck. Lorna moaned at the contact and tangled a hand in Nicky's hair.

Nicky thought she might start crying again, for real this time. She forced herself to stop kissing Lorna and sat next to her instead, looking at her carefully.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I don't want to do anything you don't want to do, baby. We can take it slow. Or we don't have to do this at all. I love you so much, Lorna. I can't lose you as a friend if you decide this was an experiment or a mistake. You might have figured out my type, but as far as I know your type excludes  _girl_."

"Actually, I've been thinking recently that  _girl_  is exactly my type. You said you always just knew – well, I guess I'm late to the party."

Nicky couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What about Christopher? He used to be all you ever talked about."

"Ask me."

"Ask you what?" Nicky was confused by Lorna's non sequitur.

"Ask me what I asked you earlier."

Nicky frowned, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer especially after dropping Christopher's name, but she played along. "Okay, baby. If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Lorna didn't answer with words right away, instead choosing to pull Nicky down and kiss her again.

"You, Nicky. I want you."


End file.
